The Wesleyan Methodist Synod of Bermuda will host a “Methodist Celebration” at various locations in St George’s on November 5 and 6, to which all are welcome.On November 5, the celebration will begin at the site of the St George’s Historical Society Museum on Featherbed Alley where Synod chairman David Atwood will deliver a welcoming address at 3pm.He will be followed at 3.10pm by the Rev Graeme Carruth, a former minister at Ebenezer Methodist Church on York Street, who is returning to the Island to re-present his dramatisation of one of Irish missionary John Stephenson’s sermons.Rev Stephenson, the first Methodist minister appointed to Bermuda, arrived on May 10, 1799, and served with dedication and diligence as he developed a church in the Methodist tradition until his departure on April 11, 1802.A man of warm sympathies and graciousness, with a distinctive preaching ability, Rev Stephenson quickly made friends with all who gathered to hear his gospel presentations, including slaves and free persons, regardless of colour, first in the then-capital of St George’s, where he was headquartered, and then throughout the Island.His refusal to accept Bermuda’s racial divisions soon brought him into conflict with the powerful of the day, many of whom were slave owners.As a result he was arrested on June 15, 1800 for violating a law designed to stop him from preaching to slaves and free persons, regardless of colour, and ultimately spent six months in prison.Undeterred, the Methodist minister continued preaching to anyone to whom he could speak through the bars of his cell on Featherbed Alley.Today, the bars of that cell, having been rescued by the St. George’s Historical Society, can be seen embedded in the wall on the Featherbed Alley side of its headquarters.Above them is a Portland stone plaque detailing their historic value. Originally erected in 1936 by the Wesleyan Methodist Church synod and the St George’s Historical Society, it will be rededicated on November 5 by the elders and youth of Cobb’s Hill Methodist Church, which was erected by slaves and free blacks in the 1800s.At the conclusion of the Featherbed Alley activities, the ‘Methodist Celebration’ will move on to the Town Square, where Rev Kirby Breithaupt, the minister at Ebenezer Methodist Church on York Street, will formally welcome the public to an entertainment programme which will begin at 4pm with an historical presentation of ‘Mosaic’ by Ruth Thomas and Company.This will consist of vignettes focusing on the early history of Methodism and Rev Stephenson’s impact on the church and society, and where the church is today.Performances by various church groups will then follow, with a choral hymn sing at 4.35pm.Following closing remarks by Rev Richard Stetler, the minister at Centenary United Methodist Church in Smith’s, complimentary refreshments will be served at Ebenezer Methodist Church.In the event of inclement weather, the entire programme will take place in the sanctuary at Ebenezer.On Sunday, November 6, Emmanuel and Wesley Methodist churches will close their doors in order to join with Ebenezer in an 11am worship service. Rev David Hewitt, executive secretary of the United Church of Canada maritime conference, will preach on the topic ‘Choose this Day’. Wesley Sunday School, under the co-leadership of Debbie Flood and Karen Marshall, will present the children’s programme.